Congratulations on your decision to become a Pilot! It’s definitely an exciting field and one you can be successful at and since they are forecasting many openings for up and comers to the aviation field soon, you should really get started on getting your Pilot’s License now.
It can be confusing surfing the net for information on how to become a pilot so we have tried to compile all the information we found into an easy to read format.
Your first step will be to get a Private Pilot’s Certificate. You'll need to take ground education and flying classes and then pass a knowledge examination and a flying exam to get your certificate. An FAA medical examiner will need to issue a medical certificate as well. This is for everyone’s safety.
If you're sincere in your call to have career in aviation, you need to up grade your Private Pilot’s Certificate to a Commercial Certificate basically because as a Private Pilot, you are unable to take reparation for flying. With a Commercial Pilot’s Certificate, you'll be able to fly for contract- you may even function for an airliner as a co-pilot using this type of certificate.
You may get your Commercial Pilot’s Certificate by enrolling in an aviation college, by taking part in a local, less expensive but fast moving flight specialty school or by joining the military. All have their pros and cons so spend a good amount of time investigating before you make a choice.
Lastly, you will need an Airline Transport Certificate to Captain a passenger flight for an airline. They will generally hire you with just your Commercial License and can help you get your ATP. They also want you to have a degree and some extra ratings and be able to fly with just the instruments on the plane. You need to boost your number flight hours by flying as much as possible but this can be expensive so get your instructor’s license and spend time in the air teaching others.
